Derwent Valley Cycleway Newsletter
Derwent Valley Cycleway Newsletter: September 2020
Welcome to the September edition of the Derwent Valley Cycleway Newsletter. The Spring and Summer in full or partial lockdown have been a strange time for us all, but they have demonstrated the growing importance of cycling and walking. We have made some great strides in developing our cycleway, with some mentioned in the articles below.
It’s particularly pleasing to see recognition and support emerging along the route. In Duffield’s monthly newsletter, the Duffield Scene, both councillors Chris Short (Conservative) and Dave Wells (Green) have mentioned it favourably, and the cycleway has been featured in the Duffield Community Association newsletter. Further north, Matlock Bath Parish Council and Matlock Bath Civic Society are actively supporting our plans to link Cromford Mill and Matlock Bath with the cycleway.
A Fiver for Wyver!
Campaign for Derwent Valley Trust
Wyver Lane runs northwards out of Belper, and has featured in many recent newsletters. We’ve now launched an important crowdfunding campaign – a Fiver for Wyver!
We need to refurbish the Wyver Lane section of the cycleway, which is old and rutted. This will contribute to the overall cycleway, and will give Belper residents a great route for local cycling, walking and wheelchair use, with better access to the bird reserve on the lane.
We’ve raised £13,000 already and need another £13,000 to complete the work.
We ask all our newsletter readers to actively support this campaign, by:
- Donating whatever you can yourself;
- Forwarding this request (or the whole newsletter) to five or more friends who might be interested;
- Publicising it within any organisation that you’re a member of – a sports club, WI, church, PTA, community association, and so on;
- Publicising it on your social media;
- Asking your employer if they as a company could add sponsorship.
You’ll find the Gofundme site here.
Bridges
One of our interesting challenges, as we run alongside the beautiful but winding Derwent, is to arrange bridges at the many places needed. Some bridges are already there and can be shared, others are in place for other purposes, like pedestrian, road, rail, or even pipes! Some will need to be built.
Pictured here is the “pipe bridge” over the Derwent, north of the cricket ground and Eyes Meadow in Duffield. We need to cross the river at the same place! We look at such bridges with interest, and are exploring (with careful consultation with the owners) if we can use or adapt the structure, to provide a cycleway bridge.
Making our Presence Felt
If you visit Darley Park or Wyver Lane, you will have noticed signs going up, as pictured. These give passers-by a good summary of our ambition for the cycleway, and will encourage them to explore further (and yes, future signs will probably refer to “cycleway”, rather than “way”).
Expect to see more signs in other locations as we work to ‘join the dots’ of our cycleway.
A Strengthened Working Group, joined by two interns!
We are very pleased to report a strengthened structure for the cycleway working group, with dedicated roles for chair (Tanya Spilsbury), fund-raising (Clive Pegg), marketing (Dawn Spendlove), project lead (Tim Wilmshurst), and secretary (Ian Scott). All of this is under the overall leadership of Derek Latham, chair of the Derwent Valley Trust.
This team has just been strengthened further by the addition of two interns, students from Derby University, who will be working with us for one day a week until the end of December. Susan Gibson will be working on project planning, Joanna Harrison on marketing. They are most welcome, and we look forward to benefiting from their energy and new ideas!
DERWENT VALLEY CYCLEWAY is a project of the Derwent Valley Trust: Registered in England : No. 3182660. A Company limited by guarantee and registered as a Charity No. 1058609
Registered office: Geldards LLP, Number One Pride Place, Pride Park, Derby DE24 8QR
Supported by: Derby Cycling Group, Derby CC, Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, Derbyshire CC, Sustrans, Cycling Club of GB, Amber Valley BC, Transition Belper, Duffield PC, Milford and Makeney community, Breadsall PC, Peak Cycle Links, Peak District National Park Authority, East Midland Trains, Ecclesbourne Valley Railway
Our mailing address is:
Derwent Valley Trust
92 Belper Road
Derby, DE1 3EQ
United Kingdom
